Published September 26, 2014
Dr. Jocelyn Chapman, assistant professor in the University of Louisiana at Monroe’s
Creative Systemic Studies (CSS) online doctoral program, was the recipient of the
2014 Norbert Wiener Award for her article “The Pragmatics and Aesthetics of Knowing:
Implications for Online Education."
Published in “Kybernetes: The international journal of cybernetics, systems and management
sciences,” Chapman’s article was selected by the journal’s editorial team as Outstanding
Paper of 2013, and is now Kybernetes’ “sample article” for prospective authors.
Chapman says, “The main purpose of my article was to show how online education can
extend efforts to transform higher education so it may better facilitate thinking
in ways that are creative and complex. I argue that the online environment is particularly
conducive to nontrivial conversation and aesthetic experience, the primary processes
of learning.”
Chapman’s students attest that their online learning experiences in ULM’s CSS program
have changed the way they think.
Karen McClendon, a second year student, says “The CSS online program definitely accomplishes
its stated student learning outcomes, which include the ability to synthesize and
apply concepts of systemic thinking to various disciplines, to demonstrate creative
and critical thinking, and to demonstrate increased tolerance for ambiguity and ‘not
knowing.’” McClendon adds, “Dr. Chapman is able to seamlessly combine rigor with imagination
in a way that I have never experienced. Her teaching and her ability to inspire her
students lend themselves to a high level of student engagement and participation,
as students must actively grapple with difficult concepts.”
Founded by Dr. Brad Keeney and now under the directorship of Dr. Justin Moore, the
Creative Systemic Studies doctoral program is inspired by the cybernetic ideas and
pragmatic practices that underlie the origin of systemic family therapy, using them
to explore diverse contexts of change.
While Chapman will tell you that she is passionate about online education, she is
also quick to explain that, “Online education can take many forms. The form that I
believe is most effective is seminar-style and intimate, founded on conversation and
creative inquiry- the kind of online program we have here at ULM.”
For more information about online programs at ULM, visit eULM
